Defeated City Council candidate Buck Horton loses again at council meeting

After the New Orleans City Council in June rejected Marlon "Buck" Horton's request to be allowed to sell alcohol at his Jackson Avenue restaurant, Finger Lick'n Wings, Horton decided to run for the council himself. He lost, getting just 6 percent of the vote, and then renewed his original request to the council. Last week, he lost again.

"You all let me down," he told the council on Thursday, including in his criticism new member LaToya Cantrell, who took the lead in rejecting his latest appeal. Cantrell was the eventual winner of the contest for the District B seat that Horton sought.

Marlon 'Buck' Horton

After running last in the four-person November primary to succeed Stacy Head, Horton endorsed Cantrell's runoff opponent, Dana Kaplan.

Saying that he had spent all his money on his barely visible campaign and that his restaurant could not survive unless he can sell beer and wine with his chicken wings and other offerings, Horton told the council Thursday he was closing Finger Lick'n Wings that day.

The request by Horton, a self-described bounce music artist who grew up nearby in what was then the St. Thomas public housing complex, drew opposition in June from neighbors who said he had hosted unauthorized block parties outside his business that grew so large and noisy that police were called. His critics said his business was a threat to the neighborhood and that allowing him to sell alcohol would worsen the problems.

Despite Horton's claim that he had reached a "good neighbor agreement" with the Coliseum Square Association, the association said that was not true. Opponents also introduced statements from 6th District NOPD commanders saying that in light of past events, they would not approve any permits for outdoor parties at Horton's establishment.

The City Planning Commission also warned that Finger Lick'n Wings had many of the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant, which by law is not allowed to sell alcohol, and that it could easily turn into a bar.

Interim Councilwoman Diana Bajoie, who temporarily took over the District B seat when Head was elected to an at-large post, asked the council in June to deny Horton's request, which it did, 7-0. A few months later, Bajoie introduced a motion asking the planning commission to rehear Horton's request, but Head and other council members persuaded her to defer a vote on it until after a permanent District B member was seated.

On Thursday, Cantrell said she had met with Horton and also talked with several of his neighbors, who she said urged her not to let him sell alcohol at the restaurant.

Although Horton said he had enjoyed his brief foray into electoral politics, calling it "fun" and "entertaining," he was clearly unhappy with how the council dealt with him, both last summer and in recent weeks. "I wasn't treated fairly," he said. "You all didn't even try to help me."

Cantrell told him that it is "not up to the council to build consensus in your community to gain support for your business."